The present invention relates generally to the field of seat frames. More particularly, the present invention relates to the design and manufacturing of seat frames having multiple support members or components configured to be coupled together using a welding process.
A variety of seat frame systems, designs, configurations, and methods of manufacturing are used in the automotive industry. Manufacturers of seat frames continually strive to provide improved seat frame designs that can be manufactured in a more cost-efficient manner. A typical seat frame includes a plurality of structural or support members designed to be coupled or fixed together. For example, a seat frame may include a pair of side support members and at least one cross member.
Several known welding processes are used to couple or fix together support members of a seat frame. Known welding processes include, for example, resistance spot welding and gas metal arc welding (e.g., Metal Insert Gas (MIG), Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG)) processes.
Demands for improved production quality, productivity, and flexibility have caused manufacturers to seek alternatives to the above-mentioned welding processes. Laser welding has been viewed as one possible alternative. Laser welding is a non-contact welding operation in which a laser beam forms a hole, known as a “keyhole,” through the workpiece to weld two or more members together. Laser welding generally allows much faster welding times than the conventional welding processes.
Known laser welding processes often involve the mounting of a laser to an end of a robot arm that must be selectively positioned substantially near each weld spot to weld the pieces together. Remote beam laser welding has been developed to decrease welding times. In a remote beam laser welding system, a single “work head” can be positioned at a predetermined distance (e.g., a standoff distance) from a workpiece. The work head includes a mirroring device configured to selectively control the path of a laser beam onto the workpiece without moving the work head. Since the time required to move a robot arm accurately into position has been eliminated with a remote beam laser welding system, the workpiece can be welded much faster. However, remote beam laser welding systems are extremely expensive, and to maximize the efficiency of remote beam laser welding, the workpiece should be designed so that it can be completely welded without repositioning the workpiece or the work head during the welding process.
Known seat frames are often designed to be welded by one particular welding process, and generally cannot be welded by an alternative welding process because of differences in the tooling requirements and/or the limitations of the welding processes. For example, if a seat frame is designed to be welded specifically by a resistant spot welding process, it is unlikely that the same design can be welded by an alternative welding process without significant redesign. In addition, known seat frames often have welds spots along varying planes, sides, surfaces, orientations, etc., which require the seat frame system to be turned, flipped, rotated, or otherwise repositioned during a welding process in order to obtain access to each weld spot.
There is a need for a seat frame that is adapted to be manufactured by a remote beam laser welding process. There is a further need to provide a seat frame system having weld spots accessible without substantially moving the members of the seat frame system and/or a work head of a remote beam laser welding system. There is also a need to provide a seat frame that can optimize the efficiency of a remote beam laser welding process by having support members that can be sufficiently clamped at the weld spots using a relatively fast-acting clamping device. There is a further need to provide a seat frame designed and optimized to be manufactured by a remote beam laser welding process, but can alternatively be manufactured in a manufacturing facility not equipped with a remote beam laser welding system. There is also a need for a seat frame, and method of manufacturing a seat frame, that is designed to be manufactured using any one or any combination of a remote beam laser welding process, a resistance spot welding process, and a gas metal arc welding process. Accordingly, to provide such seat frame and a method of manufacturing such a seat frame would represent a significant advancement in the art of seat frame systems.